A Rockland resident is claiming losses of $3 million in trying to buy Covid-19 self-test kits.
Seven Trade LLC accused Viking Sales Group, Hollywood, Florida, and Medical Engineering, Temecula, California, of fraud in a Feb. 28 complaint filed in U.S. District Court, White Plains.
Seven Trade ordered test kits to resell to a large health care company, according to the complaint, but Viking and Medical Engineering “concocted lie after lie” to explain why the kits were not being delivered.
Lonnie Banks, CEO of Medical Engineering, said in an email and telephone conversation that the information is “completely false.”
In January Seven Trade made a deal with a health care company to procure self-test kits, the complaint states, and was introduced to Viking Sales broker Shlomo E. Suissa, of Aventura, Florida. (The complaint does not identify who owns Seven Trade except as a resident of Rockland County.)
Suissa allegedly advised that he knew of a company with a large supply of kits and he set up a phone call with Lonnie Banks of Medical Engineering.
Suissa and Banks, who are named as defendants in the complaint, allegedly said they could deliver Siemens Clinitest Covid-19 Antigen Self-Test kits within two weeks.
Seven Trade ordered 350,000 kits at $5.90 each, for a total of $2,065,000, according to the complaint, and on Jan. 20 wired a $1.8 million down payment to Medical Engineering.
But Banks, of Medical Engineering, said “I don’t even know who Seven Trade is.”
He said he never talked directly with anyone from Seven Trade; Medical Engineering was his customer; and on Jan. 20 he received a check from Viking, not Seven Trade.
Seven Trade says the order was supposed to be delivered on Feb. 3 but Suissa and Banks claimed that the kits were stuck in warehouses in Germany. Seven Trade offered to pick up the kits at its own expense, but Banks allegedly said they could not be released due to U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations.
Seven Trade says it suspected fraud and demanded an immediate $1.8 million refund.
Suissa and Banks offered to immediately wire a partial refund of $600,000, according to the complaint.
But according to Banks, Medical Engineering had already refunded Viking on Jan. 24, after he learned that the kits could not be delivered right away.
Seven Trade claims it never received the funds and instead received two phony wire transfer confirmations and a video purportedly depicting pallets of test kits at a Los Angeles warehouse.
Seven Trade arranged to pick up the order but when the trucking company arrived there were no kits.
“Apparently realizing that their scheme had been exposed and now seeking to ward off litigation, the complaint states, “Suissa caused Viking to transfer a small partial refund of $200,000 … while promising the $1.6 million balance would be refunded shortly.”
The $1.6 million never materialized, according to the complaint.
Seven Trade accuses the defendants of fraud, aiding and abetting fraud, breach of contract and unjust enrichment. It is demanding $3,060,000 for the $1.6 million that was allegedly stolen, $1,435,000 in lost profits, and $25,000 in expenses.
“We did everything 100% by the book,” Banks said. “I have all the documents that show we refunded all moneys to the other company (Viking). … I have messages and everything to back it up.”
Manhattan attorneys Terrence A. Oved, Darren Oved and Glen Lenihan represent Seven Trade.
